I took a trip last week to attend a Sphagnum workshop hosted by the Botanical Club of Wisconsin. It was fantastic to learn from Dr. Jon Shaw and we had tons of fun! Our group saw 16 of the 27 species known to occur in the state, not too shabby!

Malaxis unifolia from a great big gigantic conifer swamp that I seem to get lost in every time

I made a hen Spruce Grouse very upset today and she tried to fight me, I got away with my life but not my dignity

A quiet, serene video of a raccoon drinking from a local lake and nothing wild happens

Someone in public recognized me today from my iNat profile and it reminded me of an old tweet of mine. I never realized that posting plant pictures could gain someone a bit of local notoriety?

Soil Ruby Lichen (Heppia adglutinata), new to Michigan! Some folks I know have found it in Ontario, CA and some nearby Midwest states but somehow I couldn’t find any documentation of it in the Mitten. Figured I may as well look on the high quality alvars of Drummond Island and there it was! Welcome!

After 3 years of searching on and off for Menegazzia terebrata in Michigan, I finally found some!! Well worth the wait and the 8 mile trek through one of the thicker conifer swamps I’ve ever been in!

It’s about that time, ain’t it

Lol

It’s been a good spring for lichens so far. This Heterodermia (maybe H. specioca?) is not uncommon around my area but always seems to pop up unexpectedly.

Otters are back!

Who’s gonna help me find the (likely extinct) Petoskey Pondsnail this summer? F. Bryant Walker collected 13 snail shells in 1908, wrote a vague label, found them to be a new species, and I don’t know if anyone ever really followed up much.

Who’s got two thumbs and a sick ass shirt?

Pin lichen from the inner wood of a dead Ash in a swamp. I figure this is likely Mycocalicium subtile but haven’t checked the key because I’m a lazy bum.

There’s a pin lichen that’s been bothering me for a while, shows up on old growth Red Pine. Easy to spot because the white thallus appears on the margins of the bark plates, making them look wreathed in white. Probably just Mycocalicium subtile but that’d be boring.

Went to the local marina and got to watch an otter fishing for an hour or so

Finally got out to see some lichen today. I’m often wrong about this specific group but some features point towards Pertusaria rubefacta, that’d be a new one for me!

Figured out an easy hack for IDing mosses for other people. Works every time 😎

Best find of 2024 was way back in June. Some friends and I likely found the first Michigan record of Syntrichia cainii on the beautiful alvars of Drummond Island! Felt great to add a new addition to the flora!

I got a cool book in the mail!

It always cracks me up to think of this illustrator (Montreuel?) being approached to draw pin lichens for a paper. “So they’re like… a bunch of squiggly little wiggly guys? Who are all hangin’ out together?” Yeah you pretty much nailed it.

I’ve never had a bobcat climb up on a camera before! Pretty fun to hear the little sniffs!

Her: He’s probably out talking to other girls. Me:

My work let me haul a roadkill deer into the woods to put a trail camera on it. Finally got some good videos of a bobcat who isn't very good at sharing.

Cetraria (maybe C. arenaria?) under the scope. It’s neat to look at the little white lines on the underside (pseudocyphellae) but I like the cilia “eyelashes” more, even though I’m not sure what their function is.

Made this to put up in my little office. The Michigan Dune Dart (Copablepharon michiganensis) has been documented only four times ever and seems restricted to high-quality Great Lakes dunes. I probably won’t ever see this extreme rarity but maybe some day!

Best lichen find this year was back in April when I documented Dermatocarpon luridum in a small creek near Charlevoix, MI. This species had never been found in the lower peninsula of Michigan before and is nearly 100 miles away from the nearest known location!

Lepidozia reptans! The bug people seem to turn their noses up at Leps cuz I guess moths are the big, charismatic “pretty boys” in their field? But I’ve never met a bryology nerd who isn’t excited to see this Lep. So tiny and always shows up in cool spots!

Homalia trichomanoides, an easy favorite. I don’t see it particularly often in northern Michigan but apparently it’s fairly common for the European moss people that live in my phone

Frullania asagrayana is easy to clock because it’s giant, juicy, and red. Not quite an indicator species for quality but it does tend to show up in the nicer cedar swamps around here. I always bump into it when I’m looking for F. selwyniana, which I still haven’t seen.

Reposting the moss ID alignment chart from 2020 because why not

I’ve loved Carl Sagan since middle school and was delighted to find this handwritten graph online today, hadn’t ever seen it before! www.loc.gov/item/cosmos0...

I got followed by a lot of really cool professional academic type people and I need all of those beautiful folks to know that, while I do like to study, I’m also just some ecology technician that works for a local land trust and has been known to drink beer in public bathrooms.

I keep trying to dip into pin lichens and I really enjoy the hunt but sheesh, they’re tiny! My guess for this is Calicium trabinellum but I’d need to do some spore microscopy to confirm (and I don’t know how to do that)

Mielichhoferia elongata (used to be M. mielichhoferiana) at its only known site in Michigan. Informally “rediscovered” after a 60 year absence by some pals and I in June 2023. All the old collection labels simply put the location as “Pictured Rocks” but we got lucky and found the right cliff!

Splachnum ampullaceum in the lower peninsula of Michigan! This was my best find of 2024 and my first time ever seeing this species. It was worth the three years of following every deer trail in every bog I could visit!

I have to drive a couple hours north to the Upper Peninsula to see any Pogonatum (likely P. dentatum) but gosh it’s pretty

Not certain what the identity of this moss is (possibly Cratoneuron filicinum) but it’s nice to look at. Found in a cedar swamp in Emmet County, Michigan. I’m terrible at the little carpet mosses. No costa, no teeth, no alar regions!

Aulacomnium palustre seems to pop up just about anywhere wet around my neck of the woods. Such a pleasant, fuzzy little guy

This is supposed to be Odontoschisma fluitans but I dunno the difference between Odontoschisma and Cephalozia

A story in four photos. Hoping to get some good pictures & videos soon!

I kinda despise most of the Peltigera (they’re tough and I’m stupid) but these cool illustrations make me wanna pay attention to more than just P. apthosa & P. leucophlebia (the two easy ones)

Got a nice video of a bobcat on a local nature preserve! It’s been visiting this shoreline for a couple months now

Schistochilopsis incisa, one of my very best finds this year from back in early October on Bois Blanc Island

Pretty sure this is Calliergon giganteum, very abrupt alar regions at the base of the leaf. Emmet County, MI

Paludella squarossa from Alger County, MI! Big find from yesterday and only my second time ever seeing it.

I guess I’m gonna start to post on here but I’m not sure if I’ll like it.